{Quick Reflections 22} Steadfastness

Steadfastness when it comes to the truth is the toughest issue facing any Muslim. Yes we can all have sound hearts, with all what soundness of heart entails, at one part of our lives but then lose it. Yes we can all do great deeds during a certain period of our lives but then cool down. Yes we can all get so close to Allaah (SWT) during a certain hour, day or month, like Ramadaan, but then drift away again. Yes we can all live a life time doing good deeds but, may Allaah forbid, have a bad ending. Accordingly, the issue of being steadfast is a very crucial issue.
Now this issue applies to all times and months of the year but one of the best chances we have in order to achieve it is to be very well acquainted with it before Ramadaan. We can then be able to reach it during Ramadaan and maintain it for the rest of the year for it to be renewed in the following Ramadaan.

In order to be able to practically and effectively answer the question on how to be steadfast we have to answer a more important question first. Steadfast at what direction?!! One can never be steadfast when it comes to something he/she does not understand and “grasp” well. We have to understand our exact role very well first before being able to hold on to it. As al-Hasan al-Basry says, “Iman is not achieved by wishful thinking, rather it is what is ‘deeply rooted’ in the heart and is affirmed by deeds”. In order to achieve steadfastness we need to reach that “deeply rooted” state. I believe that that is our main problem and obstacle on the road to steadfastness. How well-defined and clear to us is the “thing” that we should hold on to and be steadfast with? If you want to hold onto an object using a tool, you need to know its exact shape and dimensions in order to design a tool that would best hold that object in the most effective, strong and everlasting way. If the exact dimensions and shape of the object are not very meticulously defined, you will end up holding on that vague object using a non-matching tool and the object will eventually slip and fall off.
Similarly holding onto a certain level of performance of certain religious rituals or deeds (which is the tool) will be impossible if your knowledge, understanding, and belief do not encompass the reason and wisdom (which are the object) behind them.
This is Allaah’s method with us. He (SWT) first teaches us our roles in a very unambiguous manner and then gives us orders accordingly. Therefore, a very clear realization of the role is the foundation needed before moving any further. The first ayah to be revealed was “Read” (TMQ, 96:1). So first we read and understand very well the meanings before we can proceed further, now that we are standing on firm grounds.
Also it is said about our Beloved (SAWS) that, “Whenever Allaah's Messenger (SAWS) spoke a sentence; he used to repeat it thrice to ensure that it is comprehended.”

So the question of how to be steadfast really turns into how deeply and clearly we do understand the role on earth which we were assigned to perform. After that we can move to define certain strategies and maneuvers that would help us maintain our performance of that very well-defined role at a very high level all the time.

To start with, we have two main roles to perform in parallel, first, “And in no way did I create the jinn and humankind except to worship Me”(TMQ, 51:56), and second, “And (remember) as your Lord said to the Angels, “Surely I am making in the earth a successor”(TMQ, 2:30).
Allaah (AWJ) created us in a way such that we are very well-equipped to serve both roles at the same time. What happens if we focus on one and leave the other? We end up confused and too weak to go on with just one role and start wondering how come we are not being steadfast. We also end up messing up everything and not performing that single role the way it should be performed.
The ones who chose to just worship Him in the form of dry rituals, like most Muslims nowadays, end up not knowing what they are doing and not being His successors on earth. Moreover the ones who chose to just perform a role on earth, as most the advanced countries, end up lost in material life with loss of ethical and spiritual standards.
A true Muslim who really understands his/her dual role on earth performs both very accurately and eagerly and shifts between both roles all the time never going astray or getting bored from one role or the other. A true Muslim knows that, “Who created death and life to try you, whichever of you is fairest in deeds”(TMQ, 67:2). We are in a brotherly race in which Allaah (TWT) is testing us who will come out first then second and so on. Just like when we were students we were always competing to rank the first on our class, we are on this earth to brotherly compete to rank among the top with Allaah (SWT) by performing as much as we can of both roles at the same time; the heart role with Allaah (worshipping Him in every thought and feeling) and the deed role (being His successors on earth) which reflects it. Just like the Arabic proverb says, “Fursaan bin-nahaar, ruhbaan bil-layl”; connect your days and your nights, never cease from labor (or struggle) by day and from devotion to the Lord by night.

Accordingly our priorities should be very definite and calculated. I highly recommend “Fiqh al-Awlawiyaat” by Dr el-Qaradawy. Here is a list that is neither comprehensive nor absolute but gives very broad lines for some deeds when the issue of conflicting deeds arises. Of course performance of obligatory prayers and du”aa’ and the rest of the pillars of Islaam are not on the list as they are unquestionable for one to be a Muslim in the first place. In spite of the fact that we usually take these deeds for granted, a deeper look at them should make a world of difference.
1. Being dutiful to one’s parents.
2. Having good manners.
3. Maintaining kinship ties starting from the very close (including children and first degree relatives other than parents) to the farthest.
4. Perfecting one's work or studies.
5. Being useful to others through charity work.
6. Financial charity.
7. All types of voluntary rituals and extra prayers. (However a continuous and constant very little sort of extra prayer all the time is preferred; at least 10 minutes of late night prayer and du”aa’ for example).

In Ramadaan, Imaam ash-Shafi”iyy summed up these two roles in only two deeds by just reading Qur’aan which serves the first role and giving charity and helping the poor which serves the second role.

Now that we understand our dual roles very well and know the purpose we were created for and the race we are going through, we can move on to mention some strategies that could help us maintain a high performance level.

We all know that steadfastness is a blessing from Allaah (SWT) that we can only try to achieve through several certain indirect maneuvers that I will mention in the next article after Ramadaan if Allaah wills.
However Allaah (AWJ) tells us about the single direct act that we as humans can perform in order to achieve steadfastness. Allaah (TWT) says what means, “And the likeness of the ones who expend their riches, seeking gracious satisfaction of Allah and confirming themselves, is as the likeness of a garden upon a mound; a shower hits it, so it brings forth its crop twofold; yet in case no shower hits it, then a drizzle; and Allah is Ever-Beholding of whatever you do” (TMQ, 2:265). As a result, spending in the sake of Allaah is our only direct material method to achieve steadfastness.

In order to achieve constant and continuous steadfastness until our death, how about we all decide this Ramadaan to have a certain fixed deductible amount from our monthly income for the sake of Allaah, either for the orphans or sick or any other charity? It is always difficult to take money out of your salary and donate it, but if one decides that his primary income is 450 L.E instead of the 500 one usually gets, one can easily cope. During the course of our lives, most of us have experienced to spend 100 L.E. if we earn 100 and 1000 if we earn 1000. So how about we take this decision for a lifetime and start performing it in Ramadaan? We will take the thawaab multiplied by 70 for a life time as the decision for that lifetime commitment was taken in Ramadaan in which every good deed is multiplied by 70. How about ensuring a lifetime of steadfastness starting this Ramadaan?

May Allaah (AWJ) grant us all steadfastness until the day we meet Him.


References:
 The Noble Qur’an.
 The Prophet’s sunnah (SAWS).
 The life of the Followers.
 Our life.
 http://dorar.net/mhadith.asp

Special thanks to our sisters who helped me in the location and translation of the hadeeth and in the editing of the whole article.